Ark. Code Ann. » Title 5 Chapter 04
Arkansas Code Annotated

Ark. Code Ann. § 5-4-101 (2026)

Definitions

✓ current as of May 2026
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As used in this chapter:

    1. “Imprisonment” means:
      1. Incarceration in a detention facility operated by the state or any of its political subdivisions; or
      2. Home detention as described in § 16-93-708.
    2. “Imprisonment” may mean incarceration in a privately operated detention facility under contract to the state or any of its political subdivisions;
  2. “Probation” or “place on probation” means a procedure in which a defendant who pleads or is found guilty of an offense is released by the court without pronouncement of sentence but subject to the supervision of a probation officer;
  3. “Probation officer” means a salaried officer attached to the court pursuant to § 16-93-402 [repealed] or a reputable person designated by the court to supervise a defendant who is placed on probation;
  4. “Recidivism” means a criminal act that results in the rearrest, reconviction, or return to incarceration of a person with or without a new sentence during a three-year period following the person's release from custody;
    1. “Restitution” means the act of making good or giving equivalent value for any loss, damage, or injury.
    2. “Restitution” may also include in the event of an injury or loss that the offender has special capacity to restore or repair a sentence to perform that reparation; and
  6. “Suspension” or “suspend imposition of sentence” means a procedure in which a defendant who pleads or is found guilty of an offense is released by the court without pronouncement of sentence and without supervision.

History. Acts 1975, No. 280, § 801; 1981, No. 620, § 6; A.S.A. 1947, § 41-801; Acts 1993, No. 533, § 1; 1993, No. 553, § 1; 1999, No. 216, § 1; 2005, No. 680, § 1; 2013, No. 1030, § 1.

Amendments. The 2013 amendment added the definition for “Recidivism.”

A.C.R.C. Notes. Acts 2011, No. 570, § 91, repealed § 16-93-402 referenced in subdivision (3) of this section. For current law, see generally 16-93-301 et seq.

RESEARCH REFERENCES

U. Ark. Little Rock L. Rev.

Survey of Legislation, 2005 Arkansas General Assembly, Criminal Law, 28 U. Ark. Little Rock L. Rev. 335.

Case Notes

Court.

The word “court” refers to the judge, not the judge and jury. Gardner v. State, 263 Ark. 739, 569 S.W.2d 74 (1978), cert. denied, Gardner v. Arkansas, 440 U.S. 911, 99 S. Ct. 1224, 59 L. Ed. 2d 460 (1979).

Restitution.

Trial court had no jurisdiction to revoke defendant's suspended sentence because defendant owed no restitution at the end of his suspended sentence, and the trial court could not retain jurisdiction over him; defendant's child support was not to make good an actual economic loss of a victim of his failure to comply with the reporting requirements of the Sex and Child Offender Registration Act. Owens v. State, 2009 Ark. App. 532, 337 S.W.3d 527 (2009).

Court retained jurisdiction to revoke the suspended sentence for failure to pay restitution, because the petitioner was charged with fleeing to avoid arrest for possession of marijuana and causing property damage while fleeing, and was ordered to pay restitution for the damage he caused during the course of the criminal episode. Arter v. State, 2012 Ark. App. 327, 414 S.W.3d 391 (2012).

Suspension or Probation.

A court is authorized to suspend imposition of sentence or place the defendant on probation but it may not do both since, by subsection (1) of this section, a suspension is “without supervision,” while under subsection (2) of this section, probation requires the “supervision of a probation officer.” Culpepper v. State, 268 Ark. 263, 595 S.W.2d 220 (1980), superseded by statute as stated in, Smith v. State, 18 Ark. App. 152, 713 S.W.2d 241 (1986); Jefferson v. State, 270 Ark. 909, 606 S.W.2d 592 (1980).

Based on the clear, unambiguous language of § 12-12-1109(a)(2)(A) and § 12-12-1103(1), it was clear that the trial court did not illegally sentence defendant by requiring him to submit to a DNA sample after he received a suspended sentence because whatever conflict subsection (a) of this section might have provided, if any, was resolved by the fact that its definitions were used only for Title 5, Chapter 4. Davis v. State, 94 Ark. App. 240, 228 S.W.3d 529 (2006).

Trial court did not err in sentencing defendant after revoking his probation because defendant pleaded guilty to second-degree domestic battery, § 5-26-304, and third-degree domestic battery, § 5-26-305, and his sentences of ten and six years, respectively, were sentences that could have been originally imposed for the offenses of which he was found guilty. Jones v. State, 2012 Ark. App. 69, 388 S.W.3d 503 (2012).

Cited: Wolfe v. State, 266 Ark. 811, 586 S.W.2d 4 (Ct. App. 1979); McGee v. State, 271 Ark. 611, 609 S.W.2d 73 (1980); Cooper v. State, 278 Ark. 394, 645 S.W.2d 950 (1983); Williams v. State, 280 Ark. 543, 659 S.W.2d 948 (1983); Smith v. State, 18 Ark. App. 152, 713 S.W.2d 241 (1986); Diffee v. State, 290 Ark. 194, 718 S.W.2d 94 (1986); Lee v. State, 299 Ark. 187, 772 S.W.2d 324 (1989); Ramey v. State, 62 Ark. App. 204, 972 S.W.2d 952 (1998); Bramucci v. State, 76 Ark. App. 8, 62 S.W.3d 10 (2001).

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 19 cases (4 in the last 5 years), 1989–2025 · leading case: Harness v. State, 101 S.W.3d 235 (Ark. 2003).
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Harness v. State, 101 S.W.3d 235 (Ark. 2003). · cites it 4× “Ark. Code Ann. § 5-4-101 (1987) defines both probation and suspension as release without pronouncement of sentence.”
United States v. Jose Narez-Garcia, 819 F.3d 146 (5th Cir. 2016). · cites it 2× “Narez-Garcia argues that the definition of “suspension” or “suspended imposition of sentence” under Arkansas law, see Ark. Code Ann. § 5-4-101 (6), proves that no sentence of imprisonment was imposed in the first instance.”
Bangs v. State, 835 S.W.2d 294 (Ark. 1992). · cites it 2× “Ark. Code Ann. § 5-4-101 (1987) defines both probation and suspension as release without pronouncement of sentence.”
L.C. Kennedy, Jr. v. State of Arkansas, 2021 Ark. App. 413 (Ark. Ct. App. 2021). · cites it 2× “See Ark. Code Ann. § 5-4-101 (3) & (7) (Supp.”
Jones v. State, 388 S.W.3d 503 (Ark. Ct. App. 2012). · cites it 2× “When a defendant is placed on probation and |sno sentence is imposed, and the circuit court later revokes the probation, the court may enter a judgment of conviction and may impose any sentence on the defendant that might have been imposed originally for the offense of which he…”
Johnson v. State, 961 S.W.2d 764 (Ark. 1998). · cites it 2× “See Ark. Code Ann. §§ 5-4-101 — 618 (Repl. 1993): Chapter 4 of the Criminal Code on Disposition of Offenders.”
Whiteside v. State, 426 S.W.3d 917 (Ark. 2013). “(2) For any purpose other than disposition under §§ 5-4-101 — 5-4-104, 5-4-201 — 5-4-204, 5-4-301 — 5-4-308, 5-4-310, 5-4-311, 5-4-401 — 5-4-404, 5-4-501-5-4-504, 5-4-601 — 5-4-605, 5-A-607, and 5-4-608, capital murder is a Class Y felony.”
Martin v. State, 989 S.W.2d 908 (Ark. 1999). · cites it 2× “§ 5-4-101 (2), which provides that “probation” means a “procedure whereby a defendant who pleads or is found guilty of an offense is released by the court without pronouncement of sentence but subject to the supervision of a probation officer.”
Owens v. State, 856 S.W.2d 288 (Ark. 1993). “Capital murder under subsection (a)(1) of § 5-10-101 is defined as follows: (a) a person commits capital murder if: (1) Acting alone or with one (1) or more other persons, he commits or attempts to commit rape, kidnapping, vehicular piracy, robbery, burglary, a felony violation…”
Lee v. State, 772 S.W.2d 324 (Ark. 1989). · cites it 2× “Ark. Code Ann. § 5-4-101 (2) (1987). If a court suspends the imposition of sentence on a defendant or places him on probation, it may require, as an additional condition of its order, that the defendant serve a period of confinement, not to exceed ninety days in the case of a…”
Davis v. State, 228 S.W.3d 529 (Ark. Ct. App. 2006). · cites it 6× “” He maintains that he was not “sentenced” because Ark. Code Ann. § 5-4-101 (1) (Supp. 2005) defines suspended sentence as “a procedure whereby a defendant .”
Bramucci v. State, 62 S.W.3d 10 (Ark. Ct. App. 2001). · cites it 4× “Ark. Code Ann. § 5-4-101 (1) states: “Suspension” or “suspend imposition of sentence” means a procedure whereby a defendant who pleads or is found guilty of an offense is released by the court without pronouncement of sentence and without supervision.”
Show all 19 citing cases →
— Ark. Code Ann. § 5-4-101(2) — 1 case
Jones v. State, 388 S.W.3d 503 (Ark. Ct. App. 2012). “When a defendant is placed on probation and |sno sentence is imposed, and the circuit court later revokes the probation, the court may enter a judgment of conviction and may impose any sentence on the defendant that might have been imposed originally for the offense of which he…”
— Ark. Code Ann. § 5-4-101(4)(A) — 2 cases
Owens v. State, 337 S.W.3d 527 (Ark. Ct. App. 2009).
Arter v. State, 414 S.W.3d 391 (Ark. Ct. App. 2012).
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